The Confirmation

Anthony (Jaedan Lieberher) kneels in the church confessional – but
he has no sins to confess to the frustrated priest. He is about to spend
the weekend with his down on his luck, recovering alcoholic, carpenter dad,
Walt (Clive Owen). But, their time together will go downhill fast when a
momentary memory lapse ends with Walt’s custom tools stolen from his pickup
truck. Father and son must join together and scour the city to find the thief,
and save Walt in the process, in “The Confirmation.”

Robin:
Bob Nelson, the scribe for Alexander Payne’s 2013 hit, “Nebraska,” makes
his directing debut with his own script as his source. The result, “The Confirmation,”
attempts to take on many things – religion, marriage, raising a child, hope,
trust and faith – and cloak them in a father/son road movie where they have
the common bond to find Walt’s tools. The tools are his only means to climb
out of his self-induced morass and their search takes on an increasing desperation
as the story unfolds.

There is a lot going on, maybe too much to keep the film balanced, but there
is a great deal of heart in the father/son story. Clive Owen does hang dog
to perfection as Walt really tries to take care of his son while his estranged
wife, Bonnie (Maria Bello), is on a Catholic couples' weekend with her new
husband, Kyle (Matthew Modine). Anthony’s deeply religious stepdad insists
that he receive Communion and Confirmation in the Catholic faith. The boy,
though, has a mind of his own, something that Walt comes to understand.

There is a huge supporting cast of recognizable character actors, some used
well, like Patton Oswalt as Drake, a helpful loser who tries to guide Walt
to his stolen tools. Others, like Maria Bello, Robert Forster and Matthew
Modine, are given wispy, at best, roles.

But, “The Confirmation” is about a boy and his dad finding each other and
helping each other. Owen and young Lieberher have a great chemistry, evoking
sympathy and, more important, empathy for the pair and their plight. I give
it a B.

Laura:
Eight-year-old son Anthony (Jaeden Lieberher, "St. Vincent," "Midnight
Special") is so innocent, he frustrates Father Lyons (Stephen Tobolowsky,
"Memento") in the confessional, but after a weekend spent with his down-on-his-luck
dad (Clive Owen), he'll more than make up for it in "The Confirmation."

writer/director Bob Nelson (screenwriter, "Nebraska") makes his directorial
debut with this utterly charming modern day take on "Bicycle Thieves."
The blue collar fringe types Walt (Owen) associates with all turn out to
be a little too nice, but there's something refreshing about that too, a
sense of small town community where folks look after one another. Owen
and young Lieberher are terrific together, a desperate father and wary son
forming a lifelong bond over one wild weekend.

Tony's mom Bonnie (Maria Bello, "A History of Violence") and her new husband
Kyle (Matthew Modine, "Full Metal Jacket") are pushing the youngster to
catch up on his Catholic education while they themselves attend a religious
marriage retreat. Tony hasn't been seen much of his alcoholic dad and is
a bit anxious about spending time with him. When he picks Tony up,
Walt tells Bonnie he won't promise not to drink, he just won't do it.

The first place Walt stops in his hiccuping pickup is the Citadel Tavern,
but he's merely hooking up with contacts in search of a carpentry job.
Waiting in the truck, Tony offers chocolate to another boy waiting outside,
then is taken aback by his treatment by the two men who come out moments
before his dad.

Walt's so hard up, he can't afford to take his son for a burger, offering
him a sandwich in his humble home. He's elated to get a call offering
a solid job for that Monday, but when he asks Tony to unlock his tool box
from the back of the pickup, they discover it's been stolen. Walt's
luck continues into such a downward spiral it's almost comical, his truck
breaking down and his home locked for eviction before he's barely begun
tracing his valuable, specialized tools. His good friend Otto (Robert
Forster, "Jackie Brown") can't lend any but suggests Vaughn (Tim Blake Nelson,
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?") as a lead to track them down. Tony recognizes
Vaughn as one of the men at the Citadel, and while he gets along just fine
with Vaughn's son Allen (Spencer Drever, TV's 'Fargo'), the kid he'd also
met, Allen's older brother Mike (Quinn Dubois) turns out to be a sadist with
a loaded weapon.

Father and son will meet a meth-addicted drywaller, Drake (Patton Oswalt),
deal with alcoholic withdrawal, have a run-in with the law (Catherine Lough
Haggquist, "Elysium") and a showdown with Vaughn before they find the real
thief, and even then they'll be up against an unsympathetic pawn broker.
It's entertaining to tick off all the sins Tony racks up, but the trick
here is that they're all in service to a noble goal (well, excepting one
that involves a burger). Nelson does a nimble job walking a fine line
between Catholic teachings and real world ethics, a joke at a coin changing
machine particularly well earned. None of this would work without some
exceptional characterizations, however, and Nelson and Owen have crafted
a complex Walt, a good man whose pride in carpentry reveals a purity of spirit
even if his will has been weak. Young Lieberher shows a depth of understanding,
his character growing with exposure to the harsh truths he's been protected
from.

There's also great interplay with supporting characters, Oswalt lending
a sad comic edge, Patrick Gilmore ("The Cabin in the Woods") and Jennifer
Copping ("Slither") characterizing a worse situation than Walt's. Young
Drever is able to convey a false intimidation before showing his true nature.
Also good is Bello as a religious mom not above being a true Christian when
it helps to look the other way.

Production is low key but effective, making the most of its Pacific Northwest
locations. Jeff Cardoni's (TV's 'The Grinder,' 'Silicon Valley') uses
twangy guitar score plays to both the comic and dramatic tones of the film.
"The Confirmation" is a small movie well worth seeking out - I wanted to
give it a hug.